Phi 4 vs Phi 4 Mini Instruct
Side-by-side comparison of VRAM requirements, quantization, context length, and hardware compatibility.
Specifications
| Phi 4 | Phi 4 Mini Instruct | |
|---|---|---|
| Parameters | 14.7B | 3.8B |
| Context | 16K | 131K |
| Architecture | Phi3ForCausalLM | Phi3ForCausalLM |
| License | MIT | MIT |
| Downloads | 845.1K | 1.5M |
| Released | Nov 2025 | Dec 2025 |
VRAM by Quantization: Phi 4 vs Phi 4 Mini Instruct
| Quantization | Bits | Phi 4 VRAM | Phi 4 Mini Instruct VRAM |
|---|---|---|---|
| Q2_K | 3.40 | 7.0 GB | 2.2 GB |
| Q3_K_L | 4.10 | — | 2.5 GB |
| Q3_K_M | 3.90 | 7.9 GB | 2.4 GB |
| Q3_K_S | 3.50 | — | 2.3 GB |
| Q4_K_M | 4.80 | 9.5 GB | 2.9 GB |
| Q4_K_S | 4.50 | — | 2.7 GB |
| Q5_K_M | 5.70 | 11.2 GB | 3.3 GB |
| Q5_K_S | 5.50 | — | 3.2 GB |
| Q6_K | 6.60 | 12.8 GB | 3.7 GB |
| Q8_0 | 8.00 | 15.4 GB | 4.4 GB |
Verdict
Phi 4 Mini Instruct needs less VRAM at Q4_K_M (2.9 GB vs 9.5 GB), so it fits on smaller GPUs. Phi 4 Mini Instruct supports a longer context window (131K tokens). Phi 4 Mini Instruct is the more widely downloaded of the two.
Frequently Asked Questions
- Which needs less VRAM, Phi 4 or Phi 4 Mini Instruct?
At Q4_K_M, Phi 4 needs 9.5 GB and Phi 4 Mini Instruct needs 2.9 GB, so Phi 4 Mini Instruct is the lighter option to run locally.
- Which has a longer context window, Phi 4 or Phi 4 Mini Instruct?
Phi 4 supports 16,384 tokens and Phi 4 Mini Instruct supports 131,072 tokens.
- What is the difference between Phi 4 and Phi 4 Mini Instruct?
Phi 4 is a 14.7B model from Microsoft (Phi 4 family), while Phi 4 Mini Instruct is a 3.8B model from Microsoft (Phi 4 family). Compare their VRAM requirements above to see which fits your GPU or Mac.